Four Matron Stakes for sophomore pacers highlighted the Thursday, Nov. 9 card at Dover Downs with the $170,850 Hap Hansen Matron Stakes for pacing colts and geldings served up as the main event on tap.
Confederate took the spotlight in the card headliner as he joined driver Tim Tetrick to win his 11th race in a row.
Tetrick eased the Brett Pelling student into fourth off the car as Cannibal (Yannick Gingras) rattled off a first panel in :26.1. Confederate swept quickly to the top to assume command and he never looked back as he posted two more panels in :54.3 and 1:22.1. With a :26.4 last quarter, Confederate rolled home to a two-length victory in 1:49. Cannibal finished second and Ken Hanover (David Miller) rounded out the top three.
Diamond Creek Racing owns the homebred son of Sweet Lou and the A Rocknroll Dance mare Geothermal. He boasts $2,185,929 in career earnings from a record of 18-2-1 in 21 starts. This season, the Pelling protégé has won 13 of his 14 starts with $1,690,604 banked. He paid $2.20 to win.
Call Me Goo won the $141,450 Matron Stakes for three-year-old filly trotters with Dexter Dunn in the bike for trainer Jason Skinner.
Leaving from the far outside in the field of seven, Call Me Goo battled against Helpoftheseason (Yannick Gingras) for the front. Helpoftheseason achieved the first dibs at the quarter panel in :28 while Call Me Goo was locked on the outside. Once Call Me Goo settled into the lead, she continued through two panels in :28 and :57.1 before rushing home to a two-length score in 1:53.2. Quick Stop (Tetrick) grabbed second with Helpoftheseason third.
A daughter of Googoo Gaagaa, Call Me Goo was bred by William Roberts and is owned by Graham Grace Stables LLC. She has posted a record of 12-2-1 in 16 starts with a sum of $360,285 earned this year and a career sum of $427,522 from 16-4-2 in 23 career outings. She paid $4.20 to win.
Point Of Perfect made every call in the $127,400 Matron Stakes for sophomore colt and gelding trotters with Gingras giving the winning drive for trainer Ron Burke.
Once he secured the lead, Point Of Perfect doled out stations in :27.1, :57 and 1:24.4 before fending off a late charge from pocket-sitting Khaosan Road (Ake Svanstedt) and winning by a head in 1:55. Khaosan Road took second while Dire Straits (David Miller) joined in on the blanket finish to take third.
The son of Walner and the Muscle Hill mare Southwind Fiat is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Hatfield Stables, J&T Silva Stables LLC and Knox Services Inc. He was bred by Black Creek Farm, Northern Lane Farm, Four Corner Stables and Hickory Hollow Stables. Point Of Perfect earned his fourth seasonal and fourth career victory to total a $378,146 lifetime bankroll. He paid $10.40 to win.
To cap off the Matron Stakes action, Twin B Joe Fresh won the $117,550 division for the sophomore pacing fillies in 1:50.3 with Dunn driving for Chris Ryder.
Twin B Joe Fresh got away third through the first two stations in :27 and :55.1 before Dunn tipped the filly to the outside. She was the first to the third quarter panel from the outside as the timer read 1:22.3. Twin B Joe Fresh achieved open track and kept going to a 1-1/4-length win in 1:50.3. McSeaside (Gingras) took second and Always B Naughty completed the triactor.
Bred by Brittany Farms LLC, the daughter by Roll With Joe, out of the Captaintreacherous mare Fresh Breeze, is owned by Chris Ryder, Dexter Dunn, Peter Trebotica and Barry Spak. Her record moved to 10-3-1 in 16 starts in 2023 with $769,802 earned. In her career, the filly has 18 wins, five seconds and one third in 26 starts. Her lifetime bankroll totals $1,367,964. She paid $2.60 to win.
Papas Son, Beat Cop repeat as DSBF preliminary winners
First-round winners Papas Son ($2.60) and Beat Cop ($2.10) both came roaring back in the second preliminary round of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund (DSBF) series for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings with decisive wins in their respective $20,000 divisions. Lovenbury ($2.60) completed the trio of second-round winners.
Papas Son and driver Art Stafford Jr. sprinted to the lead from post six in the first division, clearing Cavalli Island (Ross Wolfenden) through a :26.4 first quarter before rating middle fractions of :56.2 and 1:24.3. The Papa Ray-Cruisinthecoast gelding evaded his pocket rival by two lengths in 1:53.3. Shocking Truth (Allan Davis) finished third after his first-over bid stalled on the far turn.
Les Givens trains Papas Son, now a four-time winner in eight starts with $67,624 in career earnings, for owner/breeder Stephen Messick.
Beat Cop laid down the law in the third division, improving his career record to eight wins in 11 starts with a decisive four-length score over pocket rival Come On Eddie.
Tim Tetrick sent the Dragon King-Beat The Beat gelding to a clear lead over fellow first-round winner Come On Eddie (Montrell Teague) early, and the pair raced one-two through splits of :28, :57.2 and 1:26.2. Beat Cop sprinted away turning for home, leaving Come On Eddie in his wake for a 1:54.3 win. Tug River Patrick (Tony Morgan), who was shuffled to last in the field of six, reemerged off the home turn to finish third at 71-1.
Crissy Crissman-Bier trains Beat Cop, who has now banked $110,225, for owner P T Stable.
Crissman-Bier also captured the second division, in which Lovenbury recovered from a miscue before the start to break his maiden after narrowly missing Come On Eddie in the first round.
Cody Poliseno settled the Badlands Hanover-Major Millie gelding in fourth after bobbling at the start, and the pair commenced a first-over attack just before Chellas Lil Devil (Davis) hit the half in :57.2 before working steadily into the lead midway around the far turn. After putting away his inside foe, Lovenbury was under siege from Southern Renegade (Jason Lynch) turning for home, but prevailed by a scant nose in 1:55. Chellas Lil Devil finished third, 4-3/4 lengths behind.
Lovenbury has earned $22,000 for Crissman-Bier and ownership partners Vincent Ferriero Jr. and Robert Lovenbury.
The top eight point earners from the two preliminary rounds will meet next Thursday, Nov. 16 in the $110,000 DSBF final for two-year-old male pacers.
(With files from Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund)